Known mailer assemblies for direct mail applications have been constructed in various ways to provide a medium for disseminating information, advertisements and invoices. In many cases, a direct mail mailer assembly is provided with a tear-off portion which is to be removed by a recipient. The tear-off portion may be in the form of a return mailer, an order form for purchasing magazines or merchandise, an invoice for goods or services rendered, or a form for returning needed information to the sender.
One example of a known mailer having a return mailer is U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,063 to E. T. White. White discloses an envelope consisting of a single sheet of paper divided into four leafs. The front page on the first leaf contains a window for displaying a mailing address, and the front page on the fourth leaf contains the corresponding mailing address. To display the mailing address, the leafs are folded upon each other so that the front page of the fourth leaf is beneath the front page of the first leaf.
White includes a return mailer that is connected within the mailing envelope. To retrieve the return mailer, the mailer envelope must first be opened and the return mailer must then be torn off the mailer envelope.
The return address is found on the rear page of the forth leaf. To address the return mailer, the forth leaf must first be torn off of the third leaf, and the forth leaf must then be attached to the mailer envelope with the address displayed on the rear page of the forth leaf.
The extra steps, of removing the return mailer, removing the page having the return address, and combining the two, will likely dissuade a recipient from mailing the return mailer. Accordingly, White fails to teach a return mailer that is pre-assembled for the user the that detaches from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.
Another prior art envelope is U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,280 to Peterson. Peterson discloses a tri-fold mailer. The mailer has a return postcard that is integral to the second or third leaf of the mailer. To remove the return postcard, the envelope must first be opened and the return postcard must then be torn from the mailer. This aspect of Peterson is problematic because it requires the recipient to take further steps to remove the return postcard. Accordingly, Peterson fails to teach a mailer having a return mailer that is automatically detached from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.
Peterson also teaches advertising buck slips, where the buck slips are loosely placed within the mailer prior to mailing to the recipient. The leafs are placed within the center of the mailer and the mailer is sealed about all four edges to secure the advertisements. If any of the sides of the mailer open in transit, then the advertisements would fall out. Further, sealing each edge of the mailer requires more glue than only sealing, for example, the top edge of the mailer with glue, and creating a seal on the bottom edge by folding the mailer leafs.
Peterson fails to teach a mailer having buck slip advertisements that are permanently attached to the mailer. With the advertisements secured to the mailer, the sides of the mailer would not need sealing.
Another mailer with a return mailer is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,237 to Bendel. Bendel discloses a multiply outgoing mailer, where each sheet is the same size as each other sheet and each sheet is adhered to each consecutive sheet. In Bendel, the return mailer is retrieved from the mailer by opening the mailer and tearing the sheet or sheets with the return mailer from the remainder of the mailer. The sheets that comprise the return mailer are then folded about fold lines to create the form of the return mailer.
The problem with Bendel is that the user is required to take a series of steps before the return mailer can be used, including opening the envelope, separating the return mailer from the mailer, and forming the return mailer from the separated sheet. These steps would discourage the user from utilizing the return mailer. Accordingly, Bendel fails to teach a return mailer chat is formed prior to reaching the recipient and removed from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.